[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8235 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8235

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To provide for the modernization of electronic case management systems, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Open Courts Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEMS.

    (a) Consolidation.--Not later than the date specified in subsection 
(e), as modified by any adjustments certified pursuant to section 6(b), 
the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 
in coordination with the Administrator of General Services, shall 
develop, deliver, and sustain, consistent with the requirements of this 
section and section 3, one system for all public court records.
    (b) Requirements of System.--The system described in subsection (a) 
shall comply with the following requirements:
            (1) The system shall provide search functions, developed in 
        coordination with the Administrator of General Services, for 
        use by the public and by parties before the court.
            (2) The system shall make public court records 
        automatically accessible to the public upon receipt of such 
        records.
            (3) Any information made available through a website 
        established pursuant to section 205 of the E-Government Act of 
        2002 shall be included in the system.
            (4) Any website for the system shall substantially comply 
        with the requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of section 
        205 of the E-Government Act of 2002.
            (5) To the extent practicable, external websites shall be 
        able to link to documents on the system. Each website 
        established pursuant to section 205 of the E-Government Act of 
        2002 shall contain a link to the system.
    (c) Data Standards.--
            (1) Establishment of data standards.--The Director of the 
        Administrative Office of the United States Courts, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of General Services and the 
        Archivist of the United States, shall establish data standards 
        for the system described in this section and section 3.
            (2) Requirements.--The data standards established under 
        paragraph (1) shall, to the extent reasonable and practicable--
                    (A) incorporate widely accepted common data 
                elements;
                    (B) incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, 
                full text searchable, platform-independent computer-
                readable format; and
                    (C) be capable of being continually upgraded as 
                necessary.
            (3) Deadlines.--Not later than 9 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative 
        Office of the United States Courts shall issue guidance to all 
        Federal courts on the data standards established under this 
        section.
    (d) Use of Technology.--In carrying out the duties under subsection 
(a), the Director shall use modern technology in order--
            (1) to improve security, data accessibility, data quality, 
        affordability, and performance; and
            (2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants.
    (e) Date Specified.--The date specified in this subsection is 
January 1, 2025, unless the Administrator of General Services certifies 
to Congress, by not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, that an additional period of time is required. If the 
Administrator so certifies, the date specified in this subsection shall 
be a date that is no later than January 1, 2026.
    (f) Funds for Establishment, Operation, and Maintenance of 
Modernized Court Records System.--
            (1) Short term access fees to fund development and delivery 
        of modernized court records system.--Until the date specified 
        in subsection (e), to cover the costs of carrying out this 
        section and section 3 and pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 
        1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, the 
        Judicial Conference shall prescribe a progressive schedule of 
        reasonable additional fees for persons, other than government 
        agencies, who accrue fees for electronic access to information 
        under section 303 of Public Law 102-140 (28 U.S.C. 1913 note; 
        105 Stat. 807) in an amount of $6,000 or greater in any 
        quarter. Any such additional fees shall be assessed on a 
        progressive fee schedule according to the level of use so that 
        higher volume users are assessed higher fees.
            (2) Pricing for high-volume, for-profit use.--
                    (A) In general.--Pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 
                1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States Code, 
                the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
                States Courts, in coordination with the Administrator 
                of General Services and the Office of Technology 
                Transformation of the General Services Administration, 
                may prescribe a schedule of reasonable fees for high-
                volume, for-profit public users of the system described 
                in this section and section 3, to facilitate service-
                level agreements for maximum response times, 
                integrations, high availability, and service and 
                support.
                    (B) Fee requirements.--The schedule of fees 
                described in paragraph (1) shall be based on a 
                determination of specific and substantial need, and may 
                not impair access to justice and the public right of 
                access to court records, restrain innovation in the 
                provision of legal services and access to public court 
                records, nor inhibit not for profit research of the 
                business of the Federal courts.
            (3) Fees to fund operation and maintenance of modernized 
        court records system.--
                    (A) In general.--To cover the costs of carrying out 
                this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States 
                may, only to the extent necessary, prescribe schedules 
                of reasonable user fees, pursuant to sections 1913, 
                1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932 of title 28, United States 
                Code. Such fees shall be based on the extent of use of 
                the system described under this section and section 3 
                as well as factors such as feasibility, fairness to 
                other users of the system, and efficacy, and may not 
                foreclose access to justice and the public right of 
                access to court records.
                    (B) Filing fees prohibited.--The Judicial 
                Conference of the United States may not prescribe 
                filing fees to cover the cost of the system described 
                in this section and section 3 unless the Judicial 
                Conference determines that all other sources of fees 
                will not cover the costs of such system. Only after 
                such a determination and only to the extent necessary, 
                the Judicial Conference may prescribe schedules of 
                progressive filing fees under subparagraph (A). In 
                addition to the requirements of subparagraph (A), such 
                filing fees--
                            (i) shall be based on factors to ensure 
                        that such schedules are graduated and 
                        equitable, including the type of action and 
                        claim for relief, the status of a filer, the 
                        amount of damages demanded, the estimated 
                        complexity of the type of action, and the 
                        interests of justice;
                            (ii) may be prescribed for the filing of a 
                        counterclaim;
                            (iii) shall not apply in the case of a pro 
                        se litigant or litigant who certifies the 
                        litigant's financial hardship;
                            (iv) shall not be a basis for rejecting a 
                        filing or otherwise denying a party seeking 
                        relief access to the courts of the United 
                        States;
                            (v) shall be assessed according to 
                        schedules, not on a case-by-case, ad hoc basis; 
                        and
                            (vi) shall not be greater than 15 percent 
                        of any other fees associated with the filing.
            (4) Use of funds.--
                    (A) Deposit fees.--All fees collected under this 
                subsection shall be deposited as offsetting collections 
                to the Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant 
                to section 612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States 
                Code, to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out 
                this section.
                    (B) Authorized uses of fees.--Amounts deposited to 
                the Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to 
                this paragraph and not used to reimburse expenses 
                incurred in carrying out this section and section 3 may 
                be used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, United 
                States Code.
            (5) Interest of justice.--A court may waive any fee imposed 
        under paragraph (3) in the interest of justice upon motion.
            (6) Effective date.--Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall take 
        effect on the date specified in subsection (e). Paragraph (1) 
        and section 303 of Public Law 102-140 (28 U.S.C. 1913 note; 105 
        Stat. 807) shall cease to have effect on that date.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than the date specified in section 2(e), 
and subject to any certification under section 6(b), the Director of 
the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, in coordination 
with the Administrator of General Services, shall make all materials in 
the system described in section 2 and this section publicly accessible, 
free of charge and without requiring registration.
    (b) Use of Technology.--In providing public access under subsection 
(a), the Director shall, in coordination with the Administrator of 
General Services, use modern technology in order--
            (1) to improve security, data accessibility, quality, ease 
        of public access, affordability, and performance; and
            (2) to minimize the burden on pro se litigants.
    (c) Funding for Public Access to Modernized Electronic Court 
Records System.--
            (1) In general.--To cover any marginal costs of ensuring 
        the public accessibility, free of charge, of all materials in 
        the system in accordance with this section, the Judicial 
        Conference of the United States shall collect an annual fee 
        from Federal agencies equal to the Public Access to Court 
        Electronic Records access fees paid by those agencies in 2018, 
        as adjusted for inflation. All fees collected under this 
        subsection shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the 
        Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to section 
        612(c)(1)(A) of title 28, United States Code, to reimburse 
        expenses incurred in providing services in accordance with this 
        section.
            (2) Authorized uses of fees.--Amounts deposited to the 
        Judiciary Information Technology Fund pursuant to this 
        subsection and not used to reimburse expenses incurred in 
        carrying out this section may be used to reimburse expenses 
        incurred in carrying out section 2. Amounts not used to 
        reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out section 2 may be 
        used pursuant to section 612(a) of title 28, United States 
        Code.
            (3) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect 
        beginning on the date specified in section 2(e).

SEC. 4. ENSURING MODERN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS.

    (a) Industry Standards.--The system described in sections 2 and 3 
shall be developed in accordance with industry standards for the 
incremental development of new information technology systems, 
including user-centered design, Agile software development practices 
and procurement, and service-oriented architecture.
    (b) Analyses.--The Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts shall, in cooperation with the Administrator of 
General Services, conduct regular analyses at each stage of system 
development to ensure that any requirements--
            (1) are consistent with this Act;
            (2) meet the business needs of users of the system, the 
        public, and the judiciary; and
            (3) comply with relevant statutes and rules, including 
        chapter 131 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Rules Enabling Act''), the Federal Rules of Procedure, 
        and local rules and orders of Federal courts.
    (c) Initial Plan.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts shall submit to Congress a report with respect to 
its initial plan for development of the system after consultation with 
the Office of Technology Transformation Services of the General 
Services Administration and the United States Digital Service, which 
may include an analysis of the state of the system as of the date of 
enactment of this Act, an approach for developing the system consistent 
with sections 2 and 3 of this Act, and a proposed timeline for 
development.
    (d) Reports and Notice.--
            (1) Reports.--
                    (A) In general.--Each quarter after the issuance of 
                the report described in subsection (c), the Director of 
                the Administrative Office of the United States Courts 
                shall report quarterly to the Committees on the 
                Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
                Senate on progress of the development of the system, 
                improvements achieved, and risks that arise (such as 
                lack of funding source or lack of technological 
                solutions to meet the needs of this Act or applicable 
                statutes and rules). Such report shall include an 
                assessment of vendors' compliance with a quality 
                assessment surveillance plan, code quality, and whether 
                the system is meeting users' needs.
                    (B) System status.--Not later than 60 days after 
                the end of each fiscal year, the Comptroller General of 
                the United States shall report to Congress on the 
                policies, goals, performance, budget, contracts, fee 
                proposals, and user fees of the Administrative Office 
                of the United States Courts, including input from a 
                cross-section of the nongovernmental users and 
                stakeholders, with respect to the system described in 
                sections 2 and 3 of this Act.
            (2) Notice.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the 
        Comptroller General of the United States shall notify Congress 
        that the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts has--
                    (A) produced additional usable functionality of the 
                system described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act;
                    (B) held live, publicly accessible demonstrations 
                of software in development; and
                    (C) allowed the Comptroller General or a designee 
                to attend all sprint reviews held during such 6 month 
                or quarterly period.

SEC. 5. REVIEW AND PUBLICATION OF USER FEES.

    (a) Periodic Review.--The Judicial Conference of the United States 
shall review any schedule of fees prescribed under this Act 3 years 
after such schedule becomes effective and every 3 years thereafter to 
ensure that the schedule meets the requirement of this Act. If a fee 
schedule does not meet such requirements, the Judicial Conference shall 
prescribe a new schedule of fees pursuant to this section and submit 
the new schedule of fees to Congress pursuant to this section.
    (b) Fee Proposal and Comment Periods.--
            (1) Public comment.--The Judicial Conference of the United 
        States shall publish any schedule of new fees or fee 
        adjustments, as authorized under this Act, in the Federal 
        Register and on the website of the United States Courts. The 
        Judicial Conference shall accept public comment on the proposed 
        fees for a period of not less than 60 days.
            (2) Publication of final schedule of new fees or fee 
        adjustments.--After the period specified in paragraph (2), the 
        final schedule of new fees or fee adjustments shall be 
        published in the Federal Register and on the website of the 
        United States Courts along with an explanation of any changes 
        from the proposed schedule of new fees or fee adjustments.
            (3) Congressional review period.--A schedule of fees set or 
        adjusted under paragraph (3) may not become effective--
                    (A) before the end of the 90-day period beginning 
                on the day after the date on which the Judicial 
                Conference publishes the schedule of new fees or fee 
                adjustments under paragraph (3); or
                    (B) if a law is enacted disapproving such fee.
    (c) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Judicial Conference of the United 
        States shall periodically study the system described in 
        sections 2 and 3 of this Act in accordance with this section. 
        The study shall examine--
                    (A) the relative extent to which specific functions 
                and usage of the system are supported, directly or 
                indirectly, by fees, appropriations, and other sources 
                of revenue; and
                    (B) whether, and to what extent, there are 
                additional fees of any kind that could be more 
                appropriately imposed to support the operations and 
                maintenance of the system and whether or not any such 
                fees should or must be imposed by statute or by 
                judiciary regulation;
                    (C) whether, and to what extent, there are 
                additional appropriations that should be pursued that 
                should be provided to support the system in lieu of 
                fees; and
                    (D) whether, and to what extent, there are other 
                sources of revenue that should be provided to support 
                the system.
            (2) Considerations.--In determining the appropriateness of 
        any fees, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall 
        consider the extent to which any such fees would--
                    (A) negatively or positively affect the 
                administration of justice;
                    (B) impose inappropriate burdens on access to 
                justice by litigants;
                    (C) relate to the relative impact of activities on 
                system costs;
                    (D) improve fairness to users;
                    (E) otherwise be fair or unfair to the public;
                    (F) be feasible to implement effectively; and
                    (G) generate meaningful revenue.
            (3) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United 
        States shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
        House of Representative and the Senate a report on the 
        conclusions of the study described under this section.
            (4) Fee authority.--If the Judicial Conference of the 
        United States determines, pursuant to subsection (a), that 
        additional fees are reasonable and necessary to fund the system 
        described in sections 2 and 3, it may promulgate such fees 
        pursuant to section 2(f)(3)(A).
            (5) Additional report.--Not less frequently than every 3 
        years, the Judicial Conference shall review the matters 
        described in this subsection and report any new findings to 
        Congress as described in this subsection. Any fees may be 
        adjusted pursuant to section 2(f)(3)(A).

SEC. 6. REPORTING AND CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ON FINANCES.

    (a) Annual Report and Consultation Concerning Funding for the 
Following Fiscal Year.--At the beginning of each fiscal year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative 
Office of the United States Courts shall submit to the Committees on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
on--
            (1) the status of funding the system described under 
        sections 2 and 3; and
            (2) plans for any new fee proposals or adjustments and 
        whether there is a foreseeable need to use the certification 
        authority provided under subsection (b)(2) in the following 
        fiscal year.
    (b) Certification Regarding Anticipated Funding in the Current 
Fiscal Year.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Administrative Office 
        of the United States Courts may treat any and all receipts, 
        funds, expenditures and costs associated with the system 
        established under sections 2 and 3 as constituting a separate 
        item in its budget distinct from the remainder of its budget.
            (2) Certification.--At the beginning of a fiscal year, 
        starting in fiscal year 2023, and only when necessary, the 
        Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 
        Courts may submit a certification, including supporting 
        documentation and analysis, to the Committees on the Judiciary 
        of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which--
                    (A) identifies any expected deficit in funds for 
                that fiscal year; and
                    (B) specifies the Director's response for such 
                deficit for the remainder of that fiscal year, 
                including--
                            (i) modifying the scope and scale of the 
                        system described in sections 2 and 3;
                            (ii) increasing fees or other receipts 
                        within the Judicial Conference's authority; and
                            (iii) temporarily delaying the delivery of 
                        the system.
            (3) Consultation.--Not later than 30 days after receipt of 
        the certification described in paragraph (2), the Director of 
        the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the 
        Chairs and Ranking Members of the Committees on the Judiciary 
        of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall meet in 
        person concerning the certification, supporting documentation, 
        and analysis.
            (4) Implementation.--The Director of the Administrative 
        Office of the United States Courts may implement its response 
        described in paragraph (2) any time after the 30-day period 
        following the consultation described in paragraph (3).
            (5) GAO review.--In any fiscal year during which such 
        certification is issued and implemented, the Comptroller 
        General of the United States shall conduct a comprehensive 
        review of the certification not later than 120 days after its 
        submission, including--
                    (A) the accuracy of the expectations of the 
                Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
                States Courts with respect to any deficit in funds;
                    (B) the efficacy of the Director's recommended 
                response, and
                    (C) the Comptroller General's recommendations for 
                alternative or additional responses submitted as a 
                report to the Director and Committees on the Judiciary 
                of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
            (6) Director response to review.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the Comptroller General of the United States conducts a 
        review under paragraph (5), the Director of the Administrative 
        Office of the United States Courts shall prepare and submit to 
        the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
        and the Senate a response to such review.

SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be 
construed to--
            (1) affect the filing fees or other filing procedures for 
        prisoners; or
            (2) abrogate, limit, or modify the requirements described 
        in section 1915 of title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 8. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.

    The system described under sections 2 and 3 of this Act shall 
comply with relevant digital accessibility standards established 
pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 2020.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 8235

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To provide for the modernization of electronic case management systems, 
                        and for other purposes.